hors d'oeuvre

"In many ways, we are empty people.  We live to be filled with food, drink, companionship, contentment.  And this side of paradise, we never are completely satisfied.

The psalmist tells us, however, that we do get a taste of what is to come - an hors d'oeuvre to the final banquet.  We learn that both the preview and the eternal feast are gifts from a gracious God.

Therefore, the psalmist urges us to live with hunger.  Refuse to demean the emptiness of the heart by trying to fill it or flee from it.  Neither succumb to pious happiness or cynical disillusionment.  Taste hunger as the pang of anticipation that arouses the heart to savor the meal that awaits.  Relish every good morsel of His grace - in a delicious dinner, in a well-crafted song, in a hilarious joke, in all the other tastes of the wedding banquet.  Let even the prayer over your nightly meal be as much a cry as a grateful thanks for the taste of what is to come... 

The revelation of God's goodness in the midst of our suffering leads us to service and worship.  In a sinful world, we are surprised by His concern; we are amazed at His grace."

~ Allender & Longman The Cry of the Soul ~

 Last week friday, 5 of the 6 singles on our team piled into the Land Cruiser and drove to Juba.  Scott had been summoned to preach on Sunday and despite several attempts at convincing him to put it off one week, I failed and he stayed in Mundri.  So, Larissa, Melissa, Bethany, Caleb and I piled backpacks, trunks for groceries and a few empty propane tanks into the team vehicle, leaving the Masso family to hold down the fort, and set off for the "big city."  

The first ever Juba half marathon and 5/10k road race was being held on Saturday and a few of us were of the opinion that running is enjoyable and that in the sweltering heat of South Sudan this would fall in the category of "fun" :)

I did not happen to be one of these.  Shocking, I know.  BUT I love a good sporting event and minus the short skirts, pig tails, and pom-poms Melissa and I made pretty darn good cheerleaders.

We all stayed with a friend who happened to have enough beds for us all since all his housemates had moved out in previous weeks.  We ate, we drank, we read, we talked, we watched a movie, there was ice cream, there were naps, and well, there were mosquitos in record numbers (lest you think we had been transported to a utopian paradise).

Not sure what it was...the change of scenery, the distance from pressures and failings, not sure, but it was one of the least "empty" moments I've experienced in South Sudan...maybe you would even call it feeling "full."  It gave me my own image of what this portion from a book I recently finished seems to be referring to...the food the drink the laughter the relationships...hors d'oeuvres to the final banquet.  It was mostly down time, time hangin' around, nothing particularly exciting to "write home" about, but the tastes of fullness were delightful.

I've lived most of my time in Mundri with hunger pangs...not for food, we eat quite well in fact, but for relational connection, for work I am well suited for..."suffering" is a strong word, but in a season of struggle this weekend in Juba was the experience of surprise at God's concern and grace and a reminder of the value of living with hunger.